Valve with floating seat



May 4, 1954 A. G. JOHNSON 2,677,526

VALVE WITH FLOATING SEAT Filed May 20, 1949 B 7 /.B m4 /3 /8 26 v /e I I E /6 IN VEN TOR. A IVDIPE W G. J OH/VS ON A TTOIPNEYS Patented May 4, 1954 VALVE WITH FLOATING SEAT Andrew G. Johnson, Lakewood, Ohio, assignor to The Weatherhead Company, Cleveland, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application May 20, 1949, Serial No. 94,383

3 Claims.

This invention relates to valves or cocks, and, more particularly, to a novel pressure sealing arrangement therefor. Valves of the type to which this invention relates include a sealing member in the form of a disc of material, such as rubber, fiber, or the like, which is pressed by a threaded valve member against the seat to close the valve against fluid pressure.

It is an object of the present invention to reduce the cost of manufacture of such valves and to simplify their assembly. This is accomplished by forming the threaded counterbore in the valve body with a flat, smooth seat surrounding one of the fluid passageways. The other fluid passageway intersects the side wall of the counterbore adjacent the seat. The valve member is threaded and has a flat smooth lower surface, there being an apertured sealing disc preferably of rubber-like material disposed in the bore.

The disc is not attached to either the valve body or the valve member, but is merely inserted in the counterbore before the valve member is threaded therein. Due to the presence of the aperture in the disc when the valve is cracked, fluid communication is established between the passageways regardless of whether the sealing disc adheres to the bottom of the counterbore, to the valve member, or floats therebetween. Thus, no screws, fianging or spinning operations, retaining rings, or the like, are required to assemble the sealing disc in the valve. It is merely inserted therein before the valve member is threaded into the body. The cost of manufacturing and assembly is very small.

The manner whereby these objects and advantages are accomplished will be apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a section through the valve with the valve member in its closed position; and,

Fig. 2 shows the valve member in its open position.

The valve includes a body B having a threaded nipple it in order to connect the valve to its port although the nature of the mounting means is not a part of this invention. The first fluid passageway extends through the nipple it may take the form of aligning bores H and i2. A threaded counterbore i3 is formed in the valve body having a smooth, flat bottom surface M that forms one of the sealing seats that is intersected by the passageway 12. The second fluid passageway it is shown extending laterally through the valve body and intersects the counterbore l3 adjacent the bottom surface [4.

The valve member V includes the threaded stem I! having a smooth, flat sealing surface 8 at the lower end thereof, it being understood that the term lower is used herein in the interests of simplicity; the valve may be installed in any position. A reduced cylindrical neck [9 extends from threaded stem I! and may carry means for manual manipulation such as the knurled disc 2 I. An upper portion of the valve body is flanged as at 22 and the flange may be deformed so as to retain the valve member V in place after it has been threaded into the counterbore. In the preferred form shown, the flange is deformed by indenting it at two or more zones, such as at 23 in the drawings. Sealing disc 24 is, of course, placed in the counterbore before the valve member is threaded therein and retained.

In a preferred form, the sealing disc is of nattural or synthetic rubber having a durometer of about 80 to 90, although the invention, in its broader aspects, is not limited to the use of a rubber disk. The disc is apertured as at 26, the aperture being in alignment with the passageway E2 in the body. Because of the aperture 26 and the cooperation of flat surfaces l4 and I8 on the valve member, when the valve is opened it makes no difference whether the disc 24 adheres to the surface Id of the valve body, to the surface 13 of the valve member, or floats freely therebetween. In any case, fluid communication is established between passageways l2 and It. In Fig. 2 the sealing disc is shown adhering to the surface M of the counterbore, but as shown in dot-dash lines on that figure fluid communica ,tion between the passageways would be established if the sealing disc adhered to the surface l8 of the valve member.

This construction has another advantage in addition to economics of assembly and manufacture. This is that dueto the random action of the valve disc relative rotation between the disc and the valve parts may occur at either surface, and, accordingly, wear is distributed over both surfaces of the valve member instead of only occurring at one surface thereof. This lengthens the life of the valve assembly.

Another advantage is that the tolerances for the diameter of the counterbore and the valve body, and particularly for the diameter of the rubber member, may be relatively large because there is no critical fitting of the parts about their circumference. This is a particular advantage in actual practice because the valve discs are ordinarily purchased by manufacturers of the metal parts and so they have less control over the tolerances thereof than in cases where the entire assembly is manufactured in one plant.

Having completed a description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent that various modifications thereof may be made without:departing.fromzthevessence oi the invention" as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a valve, a valve body, a bore in said body" having a threaded portion and formed ,with=.a' smooth, flat bottom surface, a first fluid passageway in said body intersectingrftheab'ottonrsurface of said bore, a second fiuid passageway in said body intersecting the side wall of said bore adjacent the bottom surface thereon a valve member threaded in said body having a smooth fiat lower surface, limit means onsaid:

valve member and body to limit outward motion of said .valvemember; saidbody andval-ve member forming a chamber-boundedon.opposedisides by said'fiatsurfaces and circumferentially bythe sidewall of said bore, and ran'annula-r fiat sealing disc loosely mounted intsaid borebetweensaid fiat valveand: counterbcresurfaces,v said disc having :an aperture in communication withsaid first: fiuid passageway, the diameter of. said rdisc being-less thanthediameter of said borewby .an amount; less: than. the-differencebetweenthe radius oftheboreand the "radius of the aperture so that the :side wall of sa-id bore maintains substantial registry betweensaid disc aperture and first fluid passageway, said parts being.ar rang-ed so that communication is established-between 2 said passageways with said avalve member retracted. but a slight. distance from its closed position, regardless of: whether said .sealingdisc adheres to said valve-body or to said valve member, said'limit means being disposedlso-that the maximum spacingof said surfacesis substantially less than.- the diameter of said .disc; the diameter of 'said-second'fiuidtpassageway also-being sub-. stantially lessthanthe diameter'of said'disc.

2. -In'a;valve,- a-valve body; a bore insaid body 4 having a threaded portion and formed with :a smooth; fiat bottom surface;-an inletv fluid passageway in said: body intersecting the-bottom surface. of said bore, an 7 outlet fluid. passageway in said bodygintersecting the sidewall of said a bore adjacent the bottom surface thereof, avalve memberv threadedin. saidbody bore. having a smooth fiat lower surface, limit meanson.said valve 'member and .body tolimit outward motion of said-valve membensaidbody and valve meme tweenrsaidfiat valve and .bore surfaces, saidsdisc having anaperture in communicationwith said inletfiuidpassageway the diameter of said disc being less than the diameter of said bore by an amount less than the difference between the radius of the bore and the radius of the aperture so that the side wall of said bore maintains substantial registry between said disc aperture and inlet fluid passageway, said parts being arranged so that communication is established between said passageways rwithsaid valve member retracted'but a-slightdistance from its closed position, regardless of whether said sealing disc adheres to said valve body or to said valve member,said limitmeans being disposed so that the maximum spacing of said surfaces is substantially lesstthanthefidiameter of said disc, the diameter of" saidoutlet fluid passageway also being substantially'lessthanthe diameter of said disc.

3..A .valve:comprising a body having a bore therein terminating in a valve seat, said body having a first port communicating with said bore through said valve seat and a second port opening into said bore through the sidewall .thereoflfan annular resilient valve idisc having..- one face-en gageable with saidxvalve seat but free of attache ment thereto, said disc--being of substantially greater diameter than the diameters of :said ports, and having its peripheral side wall'spacedslightly-fromthe sidewall of saidboreprovidingan annular fluid passageway therebetween; therelationship between the diameters of the :bore, the first port andadisc insuringqthat at: least a portion of the disc projectsibeyond theintersection of saidfirst port 'andasaid valve rseatsentirely around'sa-idfirst port, communicating with said second port, said disc having an apertureextend= ing therethrough :and positionedto communicate with-said first port, and azvalve' closure member movable axially intsaidboreandhaving a'seating-iface engageablewith: the othenface-of: said disc butfree-of attachment thereto," said valve closure member being movable towardsaid'valve seatto: press said one face of .said 'disc into sealing-engagement withsaidvalve seat to seal said first port from-said annular'fiuid passageway; to press said seating .-face 1 into sealing engagement withsaidzother iace-ofsa-id-disc to seal said aperture from' said second port, andmeans to limit-the movementofsaidseatingiace of said closure member away fromsa-id-seat to adistance substantially less -thanvthe diameter of said .disc.

References, Cited in. the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 10,082 Wright Oct. 4, 1853 213,903 Hoyt Apr. 1, 1879 1,198,537 Guy Sept. 19, 1916 1,442,026 ('irrikscheit Jan; 9, 1923 2,330,610 Natter Sept. 28, 1943 2,484,102 LeValley' Oct; 11, 1949 

